During turtle nesting season in any given year, conservation group Nature Seekers can generate at least $380,000 from turtle watching tours alone as visitors flock to Matura’s beaches to witness the nesting of leatherback turtles.

But for the second year in a row, this won’t be the case, due to covid19.

This means the group will be counting its financial losses for yet another year.

But this revenue loss doesn’t only jeopardise the group’s sea-turtle conservation work in Matura.

For starters, it continues to affect over 60 Matura residents who were once dependent on the group for employment.

And in other cases, it has resulted in the group having to make the difficult decision to stop some of its other environmental conservation work in the community.

Business Day recently spoke to Suzan Lakhan-Baptiste, who has been the group’s managing director for the past five years.

Responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the group, including staff management, Lakhan-Baptiste shared more about the dire financial situation the group is in due to covid19, and how this has affected the Matura community.

“Covid has been a rude awakening and has actually put a lot of nails in our coffin. Right now, there’s been a focus on the means to survive.

[caption id="attachment_889405" align="alignnone" width="818"] A member of Nature Seekers beach patrol team helps the leatherback turtle hatchlings on their journey to sea. - Nature Seekers[/caption]

“If we continue like this, we’ll be just like Asa Wright Nature Centre,” said Lakhan-Baptiste, referring to the recent closure of the centre owing to its financial hardship.

While Nature Seekers is widely known for its sea-turtle conservation work, Lakhan-Baptiste said it also does other activities, including reforestation in Matura, tours to different attractions in the area and making craft items to sell to visitors.

But the financial constraints cause by covid19 have changed all this and reshaped the group’s dynamics.

Annually, the different services needed to maintain the group’s conservation work and operations are estimated to cost just over $1,000,000.

Before covid19, in addition to income generated from turtle watching tours, funds came from a paid volunteer programme the group offered to both local and foreign students.

The group also raised money from its tours and selling craft items to visitors who came for turtle-watching.

“We would normally raise about $380,000 in an entire turtle season.

"That money would usually help to run our office as well as pay our office staff, patrols, and guides. It would also pay our electricity bill, our internet and our vehicles would run on that money…everything.”

It’s no surprise that these streams of revenue are now unprofitable due to covid19.

“It has been very difficult for us, as Nature Seekers, to have our tour guides and reforestation workers drafted into any employment opportunities at present.

“Our craft workers are at home, and all our artisans... All of that is totally lost, because o